Greek: peripatesai
(AAN)
axiostoukurioueispasanareskeian,enpantiergoagathokarpophorountes (PAPMPN) kaiauxanomenoi
(PPPMPN) teepignoseitouTheou,Amplified: That
you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the
Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things,
bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing
in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer
insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)NLT: Then the way you live will always honor and please the
Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All
the while, you will learn to know God better and better. (NLT
- Tyndale House)Phillips: We also
pray that your outward lives, which men see, may bring credit to your
master's name, and that you may bring joy to his heart by bearing
genuine Christian fruit, and that your knowledge of God may grow yet
deeper. (Phillips:
Touchstone)Wuest:
so that you may order your behavior worthily of the Lord with a view
to pleasing Him in everything, in every work which is good constantly
bearing fruit and increasing by means of the advanced and perfect
experiential knowledge of God, (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: to your walking worthily of the Lord to all
pleasing, in every good work being fruitful, and increasing to the
knowledge of God

So that -
Not in Greek, but in context clearly the implied purpose of the prayer
for the saints to be filled with spiritual knowledge. Paul was not an
interested in pedantry (a "show" of one's knowledge) but in
pragmatism (practice, conduct concordant with the the Truth)

The ultimate
aim of right knowledge is (or should be) a right walk! As
Lightfoot says "The end of all knowledge is conduct."

At the outset
remember that to carry out this spiritual walk, we must be aware of
our continual need for the Holy Spirit to enable us in this
supernatural (God pleasing, fruit bearing) walk. If we try to carry
this out depending solely on our own power, we will surely fail.

A S Peake
- This lofty wisdom and insight is not an end in itself. It must
issue in right practice. Doctrine and ethics are for Paul
inseparable. Right conduct must be founded on right thinking, but
right thinking must also lead to right conduct. The infinitive
expresses result “so as to walk”. (Colossians
1 - The Expositor's Greek Testament)

Moule
on walk - The word denotes life in its action and
intercourse.—The spiritual knowledge which he asks for them is thus
sought for the most sacredly practical of purposes—in order to their
closer conformity to the will of God in real life. (Colossians
1 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

Alexander
Maclaren - "By "walk" is of course meant the whole active
life; so that the principle is brought out here, very distinctly,
that the last result of knowledge of the Divine will is an outward
life regulated by that will." (Colossians
1 - The Expositor's Bible Commentary)

Spurgeon
preaching on Paul's prayer calls us to observe...

The Practical Result Of Spiritual
Knowledge. Paul prays for his friends “that ye might be filled with
the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.”

See, see the drift of his prayer-
“that ye may walk.” Not that ye might talk, not that ye might sit
down and meditate, and enjoy yourselves, but “that ye might walk.”
He aims at practical results.

He desires that the saints may be
instructed so that they may walk according to the best model. By
walking worthy of the Lord Jesus we do not understand in any sense
that he expected them to possess such worthiness as to deserve to walk
with the Lord; but he would have them live in a manner that should be
in accordance with their communion with Christ. You would not have a
man walk with Christ through the streets to-day clothed in motley
garments, or loathsome with filth: would you? No, if a man be a leper,
Christ will heal him before he will walk with him. Let not a disciple
walk so as to bring disgrace upon his Lord!

When you walk with a king, you
should be yourself royal in gait; when you commune with a prince you
should not act the clown. Dear friends, may you know so much of Jesus
that your lives shall become Christ-like, fit to be put side by side
with the character of Jesus, worthy of your perfect Lord.

This is a high standard, is it not?
It is always better to have a high standard than a low one, for you
will never go beyond that which you set up as your model. If you get a
low standard you will fall below even that. It is an old proverb,

“He that aims at the moon will
shoot higher than he that aims at a bush.”

It is well to have no lower
standard than the desire to live over again the life of the Lord
Jesus-a life of tenderness, a life of self-sacrifice, a life of
generosity, a life of love, a life of honesty, a life of holy service,
a life of close communion with God. Mix all virtues in due proportion,
and that is the life of Jesus towards which you must press forward
with all your heart (See
the full sermon - Spiritual Knowledge: It's Practical Results)

Walk
(4043)
(peripateofrom peri = about, around + pateo
= walk, tread) means literally to walk around (walk around in a
complete circuit or full circle), to go here and there walking, to tread all around. The 39 uses in the Gospels
always refer to literal, physical walking. Seven of the 8 uses in Acts
are also in the literal sense (except Acts 21:21). (See
Spurgeon's comments on what it means to walk)

Paul uses peripateo only in
the metaphorical sense (32 times in his Epistles - see all the NT uses
below) meaning to conduct
one's life, to order one's behavior, to behave, to make one's
way, to make due use of opportunities, to live or pass one’s life
(with a connotation of spending some time in a place), to walk with
God in the complete circuit (course) of faith. Stated another way,
to "walk around a circuit" begins with faith and ends with faith
works (cf James 2:14-26), initiated and enabled by the Spirit. The
believer "walks out" with the Lord, what He first works in, doing so
by obedience of faith leading to good (God) works (see Eph 2:10).
Given this picture of one coming full circle, one might say that
faith without works is walking "half circle" which ends up going no
where!

Some lexicons state that Paul used
peripateo in the Hebraic sense of living, regulating one's life or
conducting one's self.

NIDNTT writes that "peripateo (Aristophanes
onwards) is found in classic Greek only with the literal meaning of
strolling, stopping, (e.g. while one walks here and there in the
market, Dem., Orationes 54, 7); the figurative meaning of walking,
with reference to conduct, is lacking. Only in Philodemus (1st cent.
B.C.) does one find the meaning to live (De Libertate 23, 3)... In the
LXX peripateo is found in only 33 passages, of which more than half
come from Wisdom literature... Only occasionally does peripateo
denote in the figurative sense way of life (2Ki. 20:3; Eccl 11:9). (Brown,
Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)

How the Colossians (and saints
today) "walked" was obviously important to Paul as he used
peripateo in each chapter of Colossians -- In chapter 2 Paul charged
the Colossians -

As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him (regulate your lives and
conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.)
(see noteColossians 2:6)

To walk in Christ
is to live a life patterned after His and empowered by His Spirit.

In Colossians 3
Paul described how they walked before Christ transformed their heart and
mind --

In (the sphere of immorality, etc,
all things that on account of the wrath of God will come) you also once
walked, when you were living in them. (see noteColossians 3:7)

In other words
before they were saved, the Colossians ordered their behavior and
regulated their lives within the sphere of trespasses and sins. Not a
ray of light from God, nothing of God's righteousness or goodness, and
not a single good thing in the sight of God penetrated that circle of conduct.
All their previous thoughts, words, and deeds were ensphered in an
atmosphere of sin. Not one of their acts ever got outside the circle of
sin -- their previous manner of walking is a description of what is
often termed total depravity.

In Colossians 4, in
Paul's last use of peripateo in this epistle, he charges the saints to

Conduct
(present
imperative =
command to make this their lifestyle) yourselves with wisdom
(living prudently and with discretion) toward outsiders
(non-Christians),
making the most

of the opportunity (continually
seizing, redeeming or buying up the opportunity). (see noteColossians 4:5)
(Comment: Weymouth catches the thought well paraphrasing it "Behave
wisely in relation to the outside world.")

Conduct
refers to our behavior in our daily life, and it is a conduct that the
unsaved are watching with critical eyes, so there must be nothing in our
daily walk that jeopardizes our witness.

Here are two of the uncommon
figurative uses of peripateo in the LXX...

2 Kings 20:3 "Remember now,
O LORD, I beseech Thee, how I have walked (Lxx = peripateo)
before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is
good in Thy sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice,
young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant
during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your
heart (Lxx translates it as a command to "walk
[peripateo in present imperative]
in the ways of thy heart blameless") and the desires of your eyes. Yet
know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things.

In the KJVperipateo
is translated walk in all but three places in the NT uses. In
these it is rendered go about (Mark 12:38), walk about
(1Pet 5:8-note),
and be occupied (Heb 13:9-note).

In the NASperipateo
is translated by a number of words: behave(2), conduct ourselves
(1), conduct yourselves (1), leading a life(1), leads a life (1),
prowls about(1), walk(50), walk about(1), walk around(2), walked(7),
walking(21), walking about(1),walks(5), were thus occupied (1).

In the figurative
sense, peripateo refers to one's manner of life, to one's
habitual way or bent of life, to one's life-style. For example, Luke
describes Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, as
being

righteous in the sight of God,
walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the
Lord (Luke 1:6).

In contrast, Paul
counseled the Ephesian believers to

walk no longer just as the
Gentiles (in context a description of all the unsaved) also walk,
in the futility of their mind” (See noteEphesians 4:17).

In Romans Paul
explains how it is possible to no long walk as the Gentiles writing(speaking of our spiritual baptism into Christ)

we have been buried with Him through
baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk (peripateo
- Paul's first use in the NT canon) in newness (a brand new kind of life
never possible before) of life. (See noteRomans 6:4)

(God condemned sin in the flesh of
His Son) in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in
us, who do not walk (peripateo) according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit. (See noteRomans 8:4)

Let us behave (peripateo)
properly (fitting or becoming in a manner of behavior) as in the day,
not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and
sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. (See noteRomans 13:13)

For if because of food your brother
is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not
destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. (See noteRomans 14:15)

Some uses of
peripateo in Corinthians...

For (explaining why they still need
milk and cannot take solid food) you (babes in Christ) are still
fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not
fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? (1Cor 3:3)

For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (2 Cor 10:3)

I urged Titus to go, and sent the
brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did
we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in
the same steps? (2 Cor 12:18)

In one of the most
important verses in the Bible (especially as it relates to our daily
sanctification) Paul
charges believers to...

walk(present
imperative =
command to
make this one's lifestyle,
something we can only do as we are continually filled with, controlled
by the Spirit [Eph 5:18-note]
- so filled with Him, we walk by His enabling power, i.e,) by the
Spirit, and you will not (absolute negation) carry out the desire of the flesh. (Gal 5:16-Memorize
and then meditate on this important passage)
(Caveat - Do not "invert" or "reverse" this verse! It will NOT work!
That is do not first seek to not carry out the desires of the flesh,
mistakenly thinking that this will enable you to walk by the Spirit. You
will fail every time! First surrender to the Spirit and let Him
supernaturally enable you to walk -- our need for His enabling power is
continual! It is never an arrival in this life!)

Paul's
classic description of unbelievers in Ephesians...

And you were dead in your trespasses
and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the
spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. (See notesEphesians 2:1;
2:2)

After describing
the wealth (in Christ Jesus, in the heavenly places) of believers in the
first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul proceeds to exhort us to
walk accordingly (note the concentration of peripateo in
the second half of Ephesians)...

I, therefore, the prisoner of the
Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with
which you have been called, (See noteEphesians 4:1)

and walk in love, just as Christ also
loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to
God as a fragrant aroma. (See note Ephesians 5:2)

for you were formerly darkness, but
now you are light in the Lord; walk(present
imperative =
command to
make this one's lifestyle) as
children of light (See noteEphesians 5:8)

Therefore be careful how you walk,
not as unwise men, but as wise, 16 making the most of (redeeming, buying
up every second) your time, because the days are evil. (See notes Ephesians 5:15;
Ephesians 5:16)

Here are a few of
Paul's uses of peripateo in other epistles

Brethren, join(present
imperative =
command to
make this one's lifestyle) in
following my example, and
observe(present
imperative =
command to
make this one's lifestyle pay
attention to, implying mental concentration regarding) those who walk
according to the pattern you have in us. (See notePhilippians 3:17)
18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even
weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, (See notePhilippians 3:18)

Finally then, brethren, we request
and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us
instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you
actually do walk), that you may excel still more. (See note1Thessalonians 4:1)

John uses peripateo in
the figurative sense affirming
that, "if we walk (present tense =
continually - speaks of direction, not perfection!) in the light as
[God] Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1Jn 1:7)

J Vernon McGee
adds the practical comment that "Walking is not a balloon ascension. A
great many people think the Christian life is some great, overwhelming
experience and you take off like a rocket going out into space. That’s
not where you live the Christian life. Rather, it is in your home, in
your office, in the schoolroom, on the street. The way you get around in
this life is to walk. You are to walk in Christ. God grant that you and
I might be joined to Him in our daily walk. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

Ray Stedman
comments on walk writing "I like that figure because a walk,
of course, merely consists of two simple steps, repeated over and over
again. It is not a complicated thing. In the same way, the Christian
life is a matter of taking two steps, one step after another. Then you
are beginning to walk. Those two steps follow in this passage. Paul
describes them as, "Put off the old man" (Col 3:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 see note) and "put on the new." (see
specific attitudes and actions in Col 3:12-4:6) Then repeat them. That is
all. Keep walking through every day like that. That is how Scripture
exhorts us to live." (Clickfor Dr Stedman's message on True Human Potential)

In several letters
Paul commanded and encouraged the saints to walk worthy but here he
prays to God that they would be enabled to walk worthy. As
already noted, the purpose of all knowledge is conduct. A
Christian’s walk is a Christian’s life. Our walk and our
talk should be twins going along on the same trail. Christian
service is result of Christ devotion. The work that we do is the outflow
of the life that we live abiding in Christ (Jn 15:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). God must make the worker before He can do the work.

Warren Wiersbe reminds us that "Practical obedience means pleasing
God, serving Him, and getting to know Him better. Any doctrine that
isolates the believer from the needs of the world around him is not
spiritual doctrine.

Evangelist D.
L. Moody often said, " Every Bible should be bound in
shoe-leather."

THE DAILY walk of the Christian soul is so absolutely important because
it is our witness to the world. Our character, as exemplified in our
behavior, is the world's only Bible and sermon (2Cor. 3:2, 3). Let us
learn to walk so as to please God, and to bless mankind. To walk is at
first a matter of considering every little step, but afterwards it
becomes the habit of the soul (Col 1:10).

We received Jesus into our hearts by faith. He entered through the open
door and became our Lord and Master. In the same manner we must five
always and everywhere, receiving from Him, by faith, grace upon grace,
and allowing what He works in to work out in all manner of godliness,
tenderness, and Christlikeness. This practice of looking to Jesus for
grace in every circumstance of life tends to become more and more
habitual--and this is what the Apostle means when he says, "Rooted and
built up in Him, and established in the faith."

But such a walk is only possible when we have learned to "crucify the
flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:24-

note).
The flesh is the assertion of our self-life, whether in lesser or
grosser forms, but whenever self intrudes it exercises a baleful
influence on our behavior and Conversation. Just as the iron of the
steamer will deflect the needle of the compass, so the intrusion of our
self-life will act as a drag upon our character and walk.

How can we crucify the flesh? Only by allowing the Holy Spirit to have
supreme control. He makes the Cross every day dearer and more effective.
He will conquer evil habits in us and for us, while we stand by as more
than conquerors through His grace. If we will be led by Him, there will
not only be deliverance from the self-life, but He will produce in us
the fruit of holy living which will please God and refresh men.

from ágō
= to weigh)
is the adverb form which means in a manner worthy of or fitting of, in a
manner suitable to, in a manner proper of, worthily, suitably, properly.
The literal picture (see scales below) is

Axios strictly speaking means bringing up the other beam of the
scales.
means weighing as much as, of like or equal value, worth as much. It means
having the weight of another thing and so being of like value or worth
as much. In other words axios has the root meaning of balancing the
scales—what is on one side of the scale should be equal in weight to
what is on the other side. By extension, axios came to be applied
to anything that was expected to correspond to something else. A person
worthy of his pay was one whose day’s work corresponded to his day’s
wages.

Wuest - When this word axíōsis used with the genitive case as it is here, it means, “having
the weight of (weighing as much as) another thing.” It means, “of like
value, worth as much.” The saints are to see to it that their manner of
life, their conduct, weighs as much as the character of their Lord. That
is, He is to be their example in life, and the copy must be like the
example. Peter says: “Christ also suffered on your behalf, leaving
behind for you a model to imitate, in order that by close application
you might follow in His footprints” (1Pet. 2:21). Expositors says: “This
lofty wisdom and insight is not an end in itself. It must issue in right
practice. Doctrines and ethics are for Paul inseparable. Right conduct
must be founded on right thinking, but right thinking must also lead to
right conduct.” (Wuest's word studies from the Greek New
Testament)

Mounce - In classical Greek axios had to do
with tipping or balancing the scales. When two entities are compared and
found of equal weight, they are “fitting.” Since fitness implies worth,
axios came to mean “worthy, deserving.”

Romans
16:2-note
that you receive her in the Lord in a mannerworthy of the
saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of
you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as
well.

Wuest's Comment: axios “weighing, having weight,” with the
genitive case, “having the weight of another thing, of like value,
worth as much.” Paul uses it in Philippians 1:27 when he urges the
saints in that church to see to it that their manner of life as
citizens of heaven weighs as much as the gospel they preach, that
is, be worthy of the gospel. Here Paul exhorts the Roman saints to
welcome Phoebe into their spiritual company in a manner worthy of a
saint. Their welcome should weigh as much as the position they hold
in the family of God. It should be fitting to their position as
saints. They should act worthy of a saint. (Ibid)

Ephesians
4:1-note
Therefore (term
of conclusion - What is Paul concluding?) I,
the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk (peripateo)
in a mannerworthy of the calling with which you have been
called

Comment:
This verse is like a "hinge" on a door. It swings open the practical
exhortations of chapters 4-6, exhortations which cannot be carried out
without reliance of the foundational truths Paul taught on the "other
side of the door." In other words chapters 1-3 are primarily doctrine
while chapters 4-6 call believers to duties based on sound doctrine.
Belief should always show forth in behavior "in keeping with" ("worthy
of") the truth that one believes. Be careful though -- do not try to
carry out the exhortations and commands of chapters 4-6 in your
strength! You will put yourself under the law and you will surely fail!
Take the yoke of Jesus, the yoke of enabling grace, surrendering to the
Spirit of Christ. Then, and only then, you will be empowered to walk
in a manner worthy of the calling!

Wuest:
Paul exhorts the Ephesian saints to see to it that their Christian
experience, the Christian life they live, should weigh as much as the
profession of Christianity which they make. In other words, they are to
see to it that they practice what they preach, that their experience
measures up to their standing in grace. (Ibid)

conduct yourselves
(present
imperative
= a command to do this as one's lifestyle, which of course can
only be obeyed as the believer surrenders to the Spirit, is filled by
Him [Eph 5:18-note]
and walks by Him [Gal 5:16-note])
in a mannerworthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that (term
of conclusion
- What is Paul concluding?) whether I come and see you or remain absent,
I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one
mind striving together for the faith (the objective truth) of the
Gospel;

Comment:
Paul is exhorting
them to live their lives like they are citizens of heaven (because they
are! Php 3:20-note), so their
conduct in a sense "weighs as much as" (axios) the gospel they
preach and the faith they profess. In other words, they are to see to it
that they practice what they preach, that their experience measures up
to their new standing as children of the King. We do not behave (or
conduct ourselves in a certain way) in order to go to heaven, as though
we could be saved by our good works, but we conduct ourselves because
our names are already written in heaven, and our citizenship is in
heaven.

Colossians
1:10 so that (term
of conclusion - What is Paul concluding?) you
will walk in a mannerworthy of the Lord, to please Him in
all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God

1Thessalonians 2:12-note
so that (term
of conclusion - What is Paul concluding?) you
would walk (peripateo)
in a mannerworthy of the God (How? cp 1Cor 11:1 - Thus walking
like Jesus, enabled to do so by the same Spirit on Whom He
depended! See
Lk 4:1, 14 - See discussion of

3John 1:6
and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well
to send them on their way in a mannerworthy of God.

A good picture of
axios is a set of scales that are perfectly balanced. How is that
achieved? Obviously the same weight is
on one side of the scale as on the other side of the scale.

MY WALKCHRIST
IN ME

So how does a
set of scales apply to the life of a follower of Jesus Christ?
Well, let's reason this through -- If Jesus is in me, which He is if I
am truly born again, then His Spirit indwells me (Col 1:27b-note,
Ro 8:9-note,
1Cor 6:19-note).
Then, as I study His Word taught by the Spirit and grown in grace, I
begin to learn to submit or yield to the leading of the Spirit
(Ro 8:14-note,
Gal 5:18-note),
rejecting self-reliance and learning to lean on Him, depending continually on
His ever sufficient grace. As this pattern becomes a reality in my life,
I will be enabled to live a lifestyle that will "Measure up" to
the Name of the One Who is in me and my words and actions will give a proper opinion
to others of the One Who is in me, the otherwise invisible God (Mt 5:16-note).
When that happens, we are walking worthy of the Lord, of His Gospel, of
God's calling, and of our great name "saints" (set apart ones)! Now
that's abundant life! (cp Jn 10:10b)

A worthy walk
brings "forth fruit in keeping (axios - adjective) with repentance." (Mt
3:8) Keep in mind that the root idea of axios is
having equal weight or worth, and therefore of being appropriate,
suitable or fitting. The upshot is that true
repentance (in contrast to worldly sorrow - 2Cor 7:10) will have have works
which "weigh" as much as the repentance. True repentance brings forth
good fruit. False repentance brings forth rotten fruit, which will not
"balance the scales." Those who claim to know Christ, who claim to
be born again, will demonstrate a new way of living that corresponds to
("has a weight that equates to" or is worthy of) the new birth
they profess.

The believer who
walks in a manner worthy of the calling with which he has been
called is one whose daily living corresponds to his high position as a
child of God and fellow heir with Jesus Christ. His practical living
matches his privileged position.

As an aside, do
not be surprised that
when we are walking worthy of our calling (in humility rather than
pride, in unity rather than divisiveness, in the new self rather than
the old, in love rather than lust, in light rather than darkness, in
wisdom rather than foolishness, in the fullness of the Spirit rather
than the drunkenness of wine, and in mutual submission rather than
self–serving independence), that we will
experience opposition and conflict from
the world,
the fleshand the devil.

"Deissmann shows from various inscriptions that the
phrase “worthily of the god” was very popular at Pergamum." (Vine)

Axios was
used to describe the Roman emperor when he marched in a triumphal
procession. He was "worthy" (adjective). John tells us however that the One Who is
truly "worthy" (adjective) is the Lamb, recording that he heard all creation rightly
declare

Worthy
(axios
= adjective) is the Lamb that was slain to receive
power and riches and wisdom and might and honor

and glory and blessing.
(Rev 5:12-note) The Lamb slain (the resurrected and glorified Lord
Jesus Christ) is the only One Who is "worthy (adjective) to open the book and to
break its seals." (Rev 5:2-note) The Redeemer Alone had the right to
consummate the full redemption of His creation, the "final act" of which
will begin when He breaks the seven
sealed scroll, which many
futuristic commentators identify as the
"title deed to the earth" (Click
discussion).

Jesus addressing the church at Sardis
said "But you have a few
people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk
with Me in white; for they are worthy (axios
= adjective) .
(Re 3:4-note)

Keep in mind that
axios was originally used of drawing down a scale and hence it
had to do with weight and so of that which is of equal value. For example when
Paul says in Ro 8:18-note
"that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
(axios
= adjective) to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" the
picture he is painting is that present sufferings are of no weight in
comparison with future glory and are not even to be balanced on the
scale with the "heavy" glory that endures forever.

How do we walk worthy?

In a word...

You honor God's name
When you call
Him your Father
And live like His Son

“Am I
conducting myself in a manner worthy of the Gospel?” is a good question
for us to ask ourselves regularly.

To reiterate this important
point -- Rightthinking should always lead
to rightconduct. Knowledge and obedience go together. One cannot
separate learning from living. The idea of "worthy" is that the
conduct of the saints weigh as much as the character of Christ. Why?
Because
when we are surrendered to His will, He is living His life through us
via His indwelling Spirit.
Ultimately His conduct is the only conduct which is truly worthy, for no other conduct would
balance God's perfect scales. Christ alone pleases the Father completely and as we
allow Christ to rule and reign in our lives, our lives become pleasing
to the Father.

Moule on to please Him
- The word rendered “pleasing” is most instructive. In classical
Greek it denotes a cringing and subservient habit, ready to do or
say anything to please a patron; not only to meet but to anticipate
his most trivial wishes. But when transferred to the spiritual
region, and the believer’s relations to his Lord, the word at once
rises by its association. To do anything to meet, to anticipate, His
wishes, is not only the most beneficial but the most absolutely
right thing we can do. It is His eternal and sacred due; it is at
the same time the surest path to our own highest development and
gain. (Colossians
1 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

Alexander Maclaren on
pleasing to the Lord - (Pleasing to the Lord) sets forth
the great aim as being
to please Christ in everything.
That is a strange purpose to propose to men, as the supreme end to
be ever kept in view, to satisfy Jesus Christ by their conduct. To
make the good opinion of men our aim is to be slaves; but to please
this Man ennobles us and exalts life. Who or what is He, whose
judgment of us is thus all-important, whose approbation is praise
indeed, and to win whose smile is a worthy object for which to use
life, or even to lose it? We should ask ourselves, Do we make it our ever-present object to
satisfy Jesus Christ?
We are not to mind about other people’s approbation (praise,
commendation). We can do without that. We are not to hunt after the
good word of our fellows. Every life into which that craving for
man’s praise and good opinion enters is tarnished by it. It is a
canker, a creeping leprosy, which eats sincerity and nobleness and
strength out of a man. Let us not care to trim our sails to catch
the shifting winds of this or that man’s favor and eulogium (eulogy
- high praise), but look higher and say, "With me it is a very small
matter to be judged of man’s judgment." "I appeal unto Caesar."
(Paul in Acts 25:11) He, the true Commander and Emperor, holds our
fate in His hands; we
have to please Him and Him only.
There is no thought which will so reduce the importance of the
babble around us, and teach us such brave and wholesome contempt for
popular applause, and all the strife of tongues, as the constant
habit of trying to act as ever in our great Taskmaster’s eye. What
does it matter who praise, if He frowns? or who blame, if His face
lights with a smile? No
thought will so spur us to diligence, and make all life solemn and
grand as the thought that "we labor, that whether present or absent,
we may be well pleasing to Him."
(Ed: 2Cor 5:9-note
- Notice what follows in 2Cor 5:10-note!)
Nothing will so string the muscles for the fight, and free us from
being entangled with the things of this life, as the ambition to
"please Him who has called us to be soldiers." (2Ti 2:4-note)
Men have willingly flung away their lives for a couple of lines of
praise in a dispatch (an important official message, a message sent
with speed), or for a smile from some great commander. Let us try to
live and die so as to get "honourable mention" from our captain.
Praise from His lips is praise indeed. We shall not know how much it
is worth, till the smile lights His face, and the love comes into
His eyes, as He looks at us, and says, "Well
done! good and faithful servant."
(Mt 25:21) (Colossians
1 - The Expositor's Bible Commentary)

To please
(Only use in the NT)
(699)
(areskeia
from
aresko
= to please)
means a desire or willingness to please, an endeavor to please,
complaisance (disposition to please or comply), obsequiousness (marked
by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness). Areskeia is
the desire to do something that produces satisfaction. Areskeia
was used especially in public documents, descriptive of exceptional
public service or expression of devotion.

Interestingly, the root word
areskos is combined with the Greek word for man (anthropos)
to describe a "man pleaser". How would you describe yourself: "Man
pleaser" or "God pleaser"?

One of the chief aims of
our life should be to seek to please God and to do so because we love Him Who first loved us (1Jn
4:19),
for true love obeys. Everybody lives to please somebody. So the
question is - Who are you seeking to please? Pleasing God ought to be
the major motive of the Christian life. Children should live to please
their father, and even more so should spiritual children seek to
please their Father Who is in heaven. The Holy Spirit “is at work
in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Php
2:13-note).

In Genesis 5:22, 24 we see the
beautiful example of Enoch walking in a manner worthy of the Lord to
please Him in all respects...

Then Enoch walked with God
three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he
had other sons and daughters....(24) And Enoch walked with God;
and he was not, for God took him.

Comment: The Hebrew verb "walked"
in both Ge 5:22, 24 is translated with Greek verb euaresteo
(from eu = well + aresko = to please) in the Septuagint which
in English is rendered as "Enoch was well
pleasing to God." The writer of Hebrews describes Enoch's
walk = "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death;
AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the
witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to
God." (Hebrews 11:5-note)
What a testimony! May
his tribe increase!

Our Lord Jesus, the One we
are to imitate (1Pe 2:21, 1Jn 2:6, cp 1Cor 11:1) and Who now indwells us in Spirit, while on earth as
Man said "I always do the things that are pleasing (arestos
from aresko) to Him."
(John 8:29).

Pleasing God means much more
than simply doing God’s will. The half hearted prophet Jonah
illustrates that it is possible to obey God and yet not please Him,
for Jonah did what he was commanded, but his heart was not in it. (see
Jonah 4:1ff) God blessed His Word but He
could not bless His servant, Jonah. So Jonah sat outside the city of
Nineveh angry with everybody, including the Lord! Our obedience should
"not (be) by way of eye service, as men-pleasers,
but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
(see noteEphesians 6:6)

A brief survey of the uses of the
related (cognate) word euarestos,
gives us some added insight of walking in a manner that pleases the
Lord -- It is well-pleasing to God when we
present our bodies to Him as living sacrifices (Ro 12:1-note,
where acceptable = euarestos)
and when we live so as to help others and avoid causing them to
stumble (Ro 14:18 - note, where acceptable = euarestos).
God is pleased when His children separate themselves from the evil
around them (Eph 5:10-note,
pleasing = euarestos)
as well as when they bring their offerings to Him (Php 4:18 -note,
where acceptable = euarestos).
He is pleased with children who submit to their parents (Colossians
3:20 - note,
where well pleasing = euarestos) as well as with saints who permit Jesus Christ to
work out His perfect will in their lives (Hebrews 13:20-note;
Heb 13:21
-
note,
where pleasing = euarestos) Paul summarized what the goal
should be for every saint "Therefore also we have as our ambition,
whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2Co 5:9,
where pleasing = euarestos)

Micah sums it up beautifully in the
OT writing

He
has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of
you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your
God?" (Micah 6:8)

One of the tragic paradoxes in many modern evangelical circles is the emphasis on
“spiritual knowledge” and “Christian service” without connecting
these matters to purity of personal character (eg, holiness,
godliness). God buildscharacter before He
calls to service. He must
work in us before He can work through us. Knowledge, conduct,
service, and character must always go together. We know God’s will
that we might obey it; and, in obeying it, we serve Him and grow in
Christian character. While none of us is perfectly balanced in these
four factors, we should to strive for that balance (cf Php 2:12-note).

Spurgeon
calls us to observe that "Next, the apostle would have us get
knowledge in order that we may so live as to be pleasing to our best
friend- “worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing.” Is not that beautiful? To live so
as to please God in all respects! Some live to please themselves, and
some to please their neighbors, and some to please their wives, and
some to please their children, and some live as if they wished to
please the devil; but our business is to please Him in all things
Whose servants we are. Without faith it is impossible to please Him;
so away with unbelief! Without holiness no man shall see Him, much
less please Him; therefore let us follow after holiness, and may the
Lord work it in us. “Unto all pleasing”-so
that we may please God from the moment we rise in the morning to the
time when we lie down, ay, and please Him even when we are asleep:
that we may eat and drink so as to please Him; that we may speak and
think so as to please Him; that we may go or stay so as to please Him;
that we may rejoice or suffer so as to please Him- “walking worthy
of the Lord unto all pleasing.” Oh, blessed man,
whose life is pleasing to God in all respects! The apostle Paul desires that we
may be filled with knowledge to this very end. If I do not know the
will of God how can I do the will of God? At least, how can there be
anything pleasing to God which is ignorantly done without an intent to
do His will? I fear that many children of God grieve their heavenly
Father much through sins of ignorance-an ignorance in which they ought
not to remain a single day. Be it clearly understood that sins of
ignorance are truly sins. They have not about them the venom and the
aggravation which are found in sins against light and knowledge, but
still they are sins; for the measure of our duty is not our light, but
the law of God itself. If a man pleads that he follows his conscience,
yet this will ’not excuse his wrongdoing if his conscience is an
unenlightened conscience, and he is content to keep it in the dark.
You are to obey the will of the Lord: that will is the standard of the
sanctuary. Our conscience is often like a deficient weight, and
deceives us; be it ours to gather a clear knowledge of the word, that
we may prove what is that perfect and acceptable will of God. The law
makes no allowance for errors committed through false weights; when a
man says, “I thought my weights find measures were all right,” he is
not thereby excused. The law-deals with facts, not with men’s
imaginations; the weights must actually be correct, or the penalty is
exacted; so is it with conscience, it ought to be instructed in the
knowledge of the divine will, and if it is not so, its faultiness
affords no justification for evil. Hence the absolute necessity of
knowledge in order to true holiness. God grant us grace to know His
will, and then to obey it “unto all pleasing.” (See
the full sermon - Spiritual Knowledge: It's Practical Results)

What God Owes Us By Cindy Hess
Kasper - Walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him.
—Colossians 1:10 A story is told about a vendor who sold bagels for
50 cents each at a street corner food stand. A jogger ran past and
threw a couple of quarters into the bucket but didn’t take a bagel.
He did the same thing every day for months. One day, as the jogger
was passing by, the vendor stopped him. The jogger asked, “You
probably want to know why I always put money in but never take a
bagel, don’t you?” “No,” said the vendor. “I just wanted to tell you
that the bagels have gone up to 60 cents.” Too often, as believers,
we treat God with that same kind of attitude. Not only are we
ungrateful for what He’s given us—but we want more. Somehow we feel
that God owes us good health, a comfortable life, material
blessings. Of course, God doesn’t owe us anything, yet He gives us
everything. G. K. Chesterton wrote, “Here dies another day, during
which I have had eyes, ears, hands, and the great world round me.
And with tomorrow begins another. Why am I allowed two?” The
psalmist said, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice
and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). Each day, whether good or bad, is
one more gift from our God. Our grateful response should be to live
to please Him.

Living for Jesus a life that is
true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me. —Chisholm

Life is a gift from God to be lived for God.

Illustration - For nearly 5
years my trusty, rusty 1978 Mustang took me back and forth to work.
It looked like a refugee from a junkyard, but it ran. I shared the
road with some drivers who were "getting there" a bit more
fashionably They rode in brand-new showroom beauties with all the
options. They were getting there in style. I was just getting there.
When it comes to how we live on the way to heaven, we all have an
opportunity to travel "in style." When we realize all that God has
given us in Christ, we shouldn't be content to bump along life's
highway like drivers of beat-up old jalopies. Paul prayed that the
believers in Colossae would be "filled with the knowledge of His
will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Col 1:9). He wanted
them to realize how spiritually rich they were (Col 1:12-14). God
doesn't want us just to get to heaven. He wants us to enjoy the
journey and get there in style. J D Branon

How do we please Him? Bear fruit!
Going and growing. Good walk leading to good works.

And as Jesus reminds us to bear
fruit, we must abide in Him - "Abide
(aorist imperative = Do this now! Don't delay! This is vital,
urgent) in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither [can] you, unless
you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides
in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can
do (absolutely) nothing....You did not choose Me, but I chose
you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and
[that] your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father
in My name, He may give to you." (John 15:4, 5, 16)

MacArthur - Fruitfulness
also results from knowledge. Fruit is the byproduct of
righteousness. It is the mark of every redeemed individual. Jesus
said in John 15:8, “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear
much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (cf. Jn 15:2,
5-6)....The Bible defines fruit in various ways. Here Paul speaks of
bearing fruit in every good work. Converts are referred to as fruit.
Paul spoke of the household of Stephanas as the “first fruits of
Achaia” (1Cor. 16:15). He also desired some fruit among the Romans
(Ro 1:13-note).
Hebrews 13:15-note
defines praise as fruit: “Through Him then, let us continually offer
up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that
give thanks to His name.” Giving money can also be fruit (Ro
15:26–28-note).
Godly living is fruit, as indicated when the writer of Hebrews tells
us that God’s discipline produces in us “the peaceful fruit of
righteousness” (Heb. 12:11-note).
Finally, the holy attitudes mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23-note
are referred to as “the fruit of the Spirit.” (Colossians
and Philemon MacArthur New Testament Commentary)

Wuest - One of the
activities of the saint in the sphere of a behavior which is worthy
of the Lord, is fruit bearing. This fruit bearing and increasing is
to be, not in the knowledge of God, since the latter is the
motivating energy which produces the former, but by means of the
knowledge of God. It is the instrumental case here, not the
locative. Lightfoot and Expositors concur in this. (Wuest's word
studies from the Greek New Testament)

Bearing fruit
(2592) (karpophoreo from
karpos= fruit, produce +
phero = bear, bring) literally means to bring forth
fruit, to be fertile, productive. It is used figuratively to refer to
bringing forth deeds or works (fruit), which depending on the context
can be good fruit or bad fruit (see verses below, especially notes on
Ro 7:4, 5-note)

As noted above, Jesus promises that those who abide in the
Vine, will bring forth "much fruit" ("good works"). In
this verse Paul says that they will continually (present
tense) bear
fruit in (every good work) every kind of activity undertaken for
the name of Christ and in the operating power of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, upon Whom the believer is entirely dependent. Indeed, Good
works could be aptly termed "God works!"

Matthew 13:23 "And the one on whom
seed (The Gospel)
was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and
understands it; who indeed bearsfruit (present
tense = as their
lifestyle) and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and
some thirty."

Mark 4:20 "And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good
soil; and they hear the word and accept it (The
Gospel) and bear
fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
28 "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then
the head, then the mature grain in the head.

Luke 8:15 "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who
have heard the word (The
Gospel) in an honest
and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Comment: These hearer of the word (seed) not only
received the word but allowed it to mold their lives. They were
teachable and obedient, and developed true Christ-like character and
produced fruit that glorified their Father in heaven. They bore
genuine spiritual fruit which evidenced that they possessed genuine
spiritual life. As J Vernon McGee says these fruit bearers "are the
hearers who are genuinely converted by the Word of God."- Thru the Bible Commentary)

Romans 7:4-note Therefore,
my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body
of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him Who was
raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for
God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions,
which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our
body to bear fruit for death.

Comment: Regenerate and unregenerate men are
contrasted, in the unregenerate “the passions of sins,” or the sinful
impulses bearing fruit unto death, as these activities arise out of a
state of alienation from God. In the regenerate man the power of the
indwelling Spirit Who unites the soul with the risen Lord bears fruit
unto God = good fruit or Good Deeds

Colossians 1:6-note
which has come to you, just as in all the world also it (The
Gospel) is constantly
bearingfruit and increasing, even as it has been
doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the
grace of God in truth;

10 so that you will walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing
fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Though the fig tree should not
blossom (bear no fruit - karpophoreo), And there be no fruit on the
vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail, And the fields
produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold, And
there be no cattle in the stalls...

“That ye might walk worthy of the
Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful” Paul would have us producing
the best fruit. Without knowledge we cannot be fruitful; at least in
the points whereof we are ignorant we must fail to bring forth fruit.
Therefore would he have us to be right well taught, that we may
abundantly produce fruit unto God’s glory.

He says, “fruitful in every good
work”; and this means much. He desires us to be as full of good works
as we can hold. Some are hindered in this because they do not know how
to set about holy service. How can a man be fruitful as a preacher if
he does not know what to preach? True, he may preach the elementary
doctrine of the cross, but even that he will be apt to set forth in a
blundering manner. For certain, a man cannot teach what he does not
know. The zealous, but untaught man, would be much more fruitful if he
had a clearer understanding of divine things. In daily life, if in
knowledge you are ignorant as to the things of God, you will be ready
to become the prey of any false teacher who may chance to pick you up.
In hundreds of ways ignorance will make you run risks, lose
opportunities of usefulness, and fall into dangerous mistakes.
Knowledge is food to the true heart, and strengthens it for the Lord’s
work. Oh, to have knowledge placed like good soil around the roots of
the soul, to fertilize the mind, that thus the clusters of usefulness
may be as large as those of Eshcol: beautiful, plentiful, sweet, and
fall. May our Lord, the King of Israel, to Whom the vineyard belongs,
receive an abundant reward for all His labor for the vines which He
has planted.

There is another note in this
verse, which I beg you to notice. Paul would have them cultivate a
comprehensive variety of the best things. He says-

“Fruitful in every good work.”

Here is room and range enough- “in
every good work.” Have you the ability to preach the gospel? Preach
it! Does a little child need comforting? Comfort it! Can you stand up
and vindicate a glorious truth before thousands? Do it! Does a poor
saint need a bit of dinner from your table? Send it to her. Let works
of obedience, testimony, zeal, charity, piety, and philanthropy all be
found in your life. Do not select big things as your specialty, but
glorify the Lord also in the littles- “fruitful in every good work.”

You never saw in nature a tree
which yielded all sorts of fruit, and you never will. I have seen a
tree so grafted that it produced four kinds of fruit at one time, but
I remarked that it was a poor business in reference to two of the
varieties; for one of the grafts, more natural than the others to the
parent stem, drew off the most of the sap, and flourished well, but
robbed the other branches. The second sort of fruit managed to live
pretty fairly, but not so well as it would have done on its own stem.
As for the third and fourth, they were mere attempts at fruit of the
smallest size. This tree was shown to me as a great curiosity; it is
not likely that practical gardeners will be encouraged by the
experiment. But what would you think of a tree upon which you saw
grapes, and figs, and olives, and apples, and all other good fruits
growing at one time? This is the emblem of what instructed believers
will become: they will produce all sorts of goodness and graciousness
to the honor of their heavenly Father.

I have no doubt that you will
naturally abound most in certain good works for which you have the
largest capacity, but still nothing ought to come amiss to you. In the
great house of the church we want servants who will not be simply
cooks or housemaids, but general servants, maids of all work, prepared
to do anything and everything. I have known persons in household
employment in England who would not do a turn beyond their special
work to save their masters’ lives: these are a sort of servants of
whom the fewer the better. In India this is carried to a ridiculous
extreme. The Hindoo water-bearer will not sweep the house, nor light a
fire, nor brush your clothes-he will fetch water, and nothing else:
you must, therefore, have a servant for each separate thing, and then
each man will do his own little bit, but he will not go an inch
beyond. When we enter into Christ’s church we should come prepared to
wash the saints’ feet, or bear their burdens, or bind up their wounds,
or fight their foes, or act as steward, or shepherd, or nurse. It has
been well said that if two angels in heaven were summoned to serve the
Lord, and there were two works to be done, an empire to be ruled, or a
crossing to be swept, neither angel would have a choice as to which
should be appointed him, but would gladly abide the will of the Lord.
Let us be equally prepared for anything, for everything by which fruit
can be produced for the Well-beloved.

Why is it that some are not
fruitful in this comprehensive way?

Because they are not filled with
knowledge in all wisdom. When a man says,

“You ask me to do the lowest work!
Don’t you know that I am a man of remarkable ability who should have
higher work to do?”

I venture to assert that he is an
ignorant man. Self-assertion is ignorance on horseback. You have
probably read of a certain renowned corporal in the American service a
century ago. A general, as he rode along, saw a body of men
endeavoring to lift timber. They were shorthanded, and the work
lagged, but their famous corporal stood by ordering them about at a
magnificent rate. The general passed and said,

“Why don’t you lend them help and
put your shoulder to it?

“Why, sir,” said the great little
officer, “how can you think of such a thing? Do you know who I am? I
am a corporal!”

The general got off his horse,
pulled off his coat, and helped to move the timber, and by his
judicious help the soldiers achieved their task. Then he turned to the
high and mighty gentleman and said,

“Mr. Corporal, next time you want
a man to do such work as this you can send for me: I am General
Washington.”

Just so the Lord Jesus Christ if He
were here would gladly do a thousand things which His poor little
servants are too great to touch. I know you, dear brother, you are too
experienced, too old, too learned to help the Sunday school! I know
you are too respectable to give away a tract! Pray get out of such
ignorant ways of thinking, and ask to be useful in all possible ways.
If you have done a little, do much; if you have done much, do more;
and when you have more, ask for grace to proceed to the highest
possible degree of usefulness for your Lord. (See
the full sermon - Spiritual Knowledge: It's Practical Results)

In every Good work - Not just "some"
but "every" work that is "good".
Any work that glorifies the Father is a good work! (Mt 5:16) See study on Good Deeds

Good
(18)
(agathos) (click discussion of
good deeds) means intrinsically good, inherently good in
quality but with the idea of good which is also profitable, useful, benefiting others,
benevolent (marked by or disposed to doing good).

The meaning of kalos(2570)
is also discussed in this topic. The basic meaning of kalos
describes that which is
inherently excellent or intrinsically good, providing some special or
superior benefit. Kalos is
good with emphasis (as discussed below) on that which is beautiful,
handsome, excellent, surpassing, precious, commendable, admirable.
Kalos describes that which is inherently excellent or
intrinsically good and/or that which provides some special or superior
benefit. In classical Greek kalos was originally used to
describe that which outwardly beautiful. Other secular uses of kalos
referred to the usefulness of something such as a fair haven, a
fair wind or that which was auspicious such as sacrifices.
Kalos referred to that which was "morally beautiful" or noble and
hence virtue was called "the good" (to kalon).
The New Testament uses of kalos are similar to the secular
Greek -- outwardly fair, as the stones of the temple (Lk 21:5); well
adapted to its purpose, as salt ("salt is good" Mk 9:50);
competent for an office, as deacons ("good servant of Christ
Jesus" 1Ti 4:6); a steward ("serving one another, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God", see note 1 Peter 4:10);
a good soldier (note 2 Timothy 2:3);
expedient, wholesome ("it is better for you to enter life
crippled" Mk 9:43, 45, 47); morally good, noble, as works ("Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works" see note Matthew 5:16);
conscience ("we are sure that we have a good conscience", see
note Hebrews 13:18).
The phrase it is good, i.e., a good or proper thing ("It is
good not to eat meat or to drink wine", see note Romans 14:21).
In the Septuagint (LXX)kalosis the most commonly used word for
good as opposed to evil (e.g., see Ge 2:17; 24:50; Isaiah
5:20).

Agathos is one whose
goodness and works of goodness are transferred to others. Good and
doing good is the idea. Agathos describes that which is beneficial in
addition to being good.

Agathos is that which is
good in its character, beneficial in its effects and/or useful
in its action.

Agathos is used in the New
Testament primarily of spiritual and moral excellence. Paul uses
agathos to describe the gospel as the “glad tidings of good
things” (see noteRomans 10:15).
The writer of Hebrews uses it in the same way, of “the good
things to come” of which “Christ appeared as a high priest” (see
noteHebrews 9:11)
and of which the law was “only a shadow” (see note Hebrews 10:1).

The precise meaning of agathos
can be difficult to appreciate and distinguish from kalos (2570)
an adjective that is also translated good. An attempt is made in the
following discussion to bring out the difference, but in some verses
where both are used, this distinction can be difficult to appreciate.

Agathos describes that which
is perfect, producing pleasure, satisfaction, and a sense of
well-being, for example describing a good conscience in (1Ti
1:5).

But the goal of our instruction is
love from a pure heart and a good (agathos) conscience and a
sincere faith.

A good (agathos) conscience
is that which has been cleansed from guilt, through the blood of
Christ, and as a result of this, responds to the claims of the Lord to
exercise love, as being the aim of the charge Paul gives to Timothy in
this verse.

Agathos describes the
believer's deeds that remain withstand being tested by fire at the
Judgment Seat of Christ (1Cor 3:12, 13)

The words of saints are to be
agathos (good for edification) (see noteEphesians 4:29)

Paul uses agathos in his
prayer in second Thessalonians writing "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself and God our Father, Who has loved us and given us eternal
comfort and good (agathos) hope by grace, comfort and
strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. (2Thes 2:16-17) (Comment:
Here the hope is classified as intrinsically good because of
its cheering and sustaining effect on the believer who cherishes it.)

In reference to God (as in Mt
19:16) agathos conveys the sense of perfect.

Agathos is distinguished
from kalos in that while agathos is inherently,
morally, or practically good, kalos takes that a step
further and adds the idea of aesthetically good, beautiful, fair and
appealing to the eye. Thus kalos is used to describe a
qualification of an elder as "one who manages his own household
well (kalos not agathos)" (1Ti 3:4).

In other words an elder must
be one whose leadership in the home is not only intrinsically good
(which it should be = agathos), but also visibly good (kalos = because
he as leader will be watched closely by the sheep under him and by the
pagan outside the flock). Agathos is good in the sense of
useful, kalos good in the sense of beautiful, although the
distinction is subtle.

This distinction between agathos
and kalos is brought out to a degree in Romans 12:17 (note)
where Paul instructs believers to "Never pay back evil for evil to
anyone. Respect what is right (kalos) in the sight of all men.
(Comment: Agathos refers to intrinsic goodness, and
kalos here, to exterior goodness, or goodness that is seen on the
exterior of a person, the outward expression of an inward goodness.
When this outward expression conforms to the inward goodness, then
that expression which a Christian gives of himself is an honest one,
one conforming to the inner facts. The word could be translated in a
connection like this by the word “seemly,” seemly in that the
expression is fitting. But if the Christian assumes an outward
expression which is patterned after this age, that expression not
representing what he is, a child of God, but giving the beholder the
impression that he is a person of the world, that expression is a
dishonest one. - from Wuest - Reference)

Agathos refers to intrinsic
goodness, but in Romans 12:17 Paul uses kalos to describe
exterior goodness, or goodness that is seen on the exterior of a
person, the outward expression of an inward goodness. Such exterior
goodness (which is beautiful, fair, virtuous) is necessary because
what we do as Christians is observed by those around us, and it is
important that our conduct, which is open to “the eyes of
everybody,” brings honor to our God and corresponds to our
profession.

Vine notes that "The word kalos, “good,”
signifies the absolute worth of a thing, agathos denotes what
is beneficial...kalos...describes that which is intrinsically
good, that which is well adapted to the purpose intended; in 1Timothy
5:10, 25, 6:18 it describes that which is ethically good, right,
noble, honorable; it is to be distinguished from agathos, good
in character or constitution and beneficial in effect, as in 1Timothy
1:5, 19; 2:10; 5:10. (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

And so we encounter both kalos
and agathos in 1Timothy 5:10 "(widows) having a reputation for
good (kalos) works; and if she has brought up children, if she has
shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if
she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to
every good (agathos) work."

Vine commenting on the use
of both kalos and agathos in 1Timothy 5:10 writes
that "Some would regard these adjectives
as merely interchangeable in this connection. Kalos, however,
directs attention to that which is fair, noble, honorable or
beautiful, outwardly and visibly, agathos to that which, being
good in character or constitution, is beneficial in effect. The
distinctive meanings are well exemplified here: in the first case the
word lays stress upon that which, being noble and honorable, bears a
favorable report (not that it is not at the same time beneficial); in
the second case the stress is on the beneficial character of the work.
(Ibid)

In 1Timothy 6:18 good occurs twice,
once as agathos and once as kalos "Instruct them to do good,
(agathoergeo - from agathos) to be rich in good (kalos) works,
to be generous and ready to share. (Comment: Here Paul teaches
that the liberal use of one’s means, while beneficent in effect
(agathos), is intrinsically honorable, fair, beautiful (kalos).

In Romans 7:18 (note)
Paul uses both agathos and kalos writing "For I know that nothing good
(agathos - here referring to nothing capable of accomplishing
good. It is incapable of acting in a beneficial way) dwells in me,
that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing
of the good (kalos - that which is wholly admirable,
fair) is not. " Comment: Denney says that
kalos suggests the moral beauty of the law, agathos its
beneficial purpose.

Barclay - There are two Greek words for good.
Agathos simply describes a thing as good. Kalos means
that a thing is not only good but looks good; it has a winsome
attractiveness about it. Real Christianity is a lovely thing. There
are so many people who are good but with their goodness possess a
streak of unlovely hardness. (Acts
2 - William Barclay's Daily Study Bible)...Now in Greek,
there are two words for good. There is agathos which simply
describes the moral quality of a thing; there is kalos which means
that in the goodness there is a quality of winsomeness which makes
it lovely. When Jesus is described as the good shepherd, the word is
kalos. In him there is more than efficiency and more than fidelity;
there is loveliness. Sometimes in a village or town people speak
about the good doctor. They are not thinking only of the doctor’s
efficiency and skill as a physician; they are thinking of the
sympathy and the kindness and the graciousness which he brought with
him and which made him the friend of all. In the picture of Jesus as
the Good Shepherd there is loveliness as well as strength and power.
(note
on John 10:16)... In Greek there are two words for good. There
is agathos which describes a thing which is morally good; and
there is kalos which describes a thing which is not only good but
lovely. A thing might be agathos, and yet be hard, stern, austere,
unattractive. But a thing which is kalos is winsome and lovely, with
a certain bloom of charm upon it. (note
on Mark 14:10)

Richards writes that...

There are two basic words for
"good" found in the NT: agathos and kalos. Agathos
indicates the good as useful and came to have a strong ethical and
religious emphasis. On the other hand, the other word meaning "good,"
kalos, stresses the aesthetic. The person or thing that is
kalos is beautiful, fine, noble, and praiseworthy. As a thing of
beauty, such a person or object is pleasing to God and to his people
and is a source of joy. This happy tone in kalos is captured in
Jesus' words about the woman called Mary who washed his feet and
anointed him just before he was betrayed: "She has done a beautiful
thing to me," he said (Mt 26:10; Mark 14:6).

Because of their link with the good, kalos and agathos
are often used synonymously and usually both are translated "good."
Thus the aspect of beauty found in goodness and revealed in the Greek
language is often lost in our English translations.

MacArthur commenting on the
fruit of the Spirit which includes goodness writes that the word is
agathos which "has to do with moral and spiritual
excellence that is known by its sweetness and active kindness. Paul
helped define this virtue when he observed that “one will hardly die
for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would
dare even to die” (Ro 5:7-note).
A Christian can be morally upright but still not manifest the grace of
goodness. He may be admired and respected for his high moral standards
and might even have a friend who would risk his life for him. But the
upright person who also has goodness is much more likely to have
serf-sacrificing friends...(Agathos) is the internal goodness
produced by the Spirit in the hearts of obedient believers, which then
finds expression in external goodness spoken by his mouth and
performed by his hands. It is also good that is unqualified and
unrestricted, to be shown all men, including unbelievers (see Gal
6:10-note) (MacArthur,
J. Galatians. Chicago: Moody Press)

In Mark 10:17 (also Luke
18:18 describing a certain ruler) we read of the man who came to
Jesus - "And as He was setting out on a
journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and began asking
Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Mark and Luke both use agathos
for good, which implies that the questioner saw the Lord as
good in nature and in essence. The writers would have used the
word kalos if the questioner's intent was to denote strictly
external goodness or good form. In saying “good teacher” the
questioner was not just calling Jesus a capable teacher but was
affirming belief in the Lord’s essential (agathos) goodness.

Wuest adds that "agathos which
speaks of intrinsic goodness, and kalos which speaks of
goodness as it is seen from without. The word kalos has
also the idea of “beautiful.” It was used by the Greeks of anything so
distinguished in form, excellence, goodness, usefulness, as to be
pleasing. Hence, it can refer to anything which is handsome, useful,
excellent, suitable, commendable, excellent in its nature and
characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends...Kalos (is) a
goodness seen on the outside as it strikes the eye, a beautiful,
pleasing goodness. It was a work that as Swete says, possessed true
moral beauty....Agathos always includes a corresponding
beneficent relation of the subject of it to another subject...Kalos
speaks of goodness as seen from the outside by a spectator.
(Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Saints are made adequate and
equipped for good (agathos) works by God's Word "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the
man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good (agathos) work."
(2Ti 3:16-17-note).

Consider the fruit tree. It is not "conscious" of the bearing
process. We are to be like the fruit tree for it is God Who is causing
fruit be borne in good works
which blossom and ripen as we are walk obedient to His revealed will.

One way to think of this is as a
process, so that in salvation God does work for us, in
sanctification He does work in us and in service He does
work through us and bears fruit that remains. God builds
character before He calls to service. He must work in us
before He can work through us. God spent 25 years
working in Abraham before He gave him the promised son Isaac. Remember
too that although we are not saved by good works, we are saved unto
good works.

John Calvin - “It is faith alone that
justifies, but faith that justifies can never be alone.”

Maclaren - One plain
principle implied here is that the only true fruit is goodness (Ed:
I would qualify this as anything which is initiated and empowered by
the Holy Spirit). We may be busy, as many a man in our great
commercial cities is busy, from Monday morning till Saturday night
for a long lifetime, and may have had to build bigger barns for our
"fruits and our goods," and yet, in the high and solemn meaning of
the word here, our life may be utterly empty and fruitless. Much of
our work and of its results is no more fruit than the galls on the
oak leaves are. They are a swelling from a puncture made by an
insect, a sign of disease, not of life. The only sort of work which
can be called fruit, in the highest meaning of the word, is that
which corresponds to a man’s whole nature and relations; and the
only work which does so correspond is a life of loving service of
God, which cultivates all things lovely and of good report.
Goodness, therefore, alone deserves to be called fruit-as for all
the rest of our busy lives, they and their toils are like the
rootless, lifeless chaff that is whirled out of the threshing floor
by every gust. A life which has not in it holiness and loving
obedience, however richly productive it may be in lower respects, is
in inmost reality blighted and barren, and is "nigh unto burning."
Goodness is fruit; all else is nothing but leaves. (Colossians
1 - The Expositor's Bible Commentary)

We are
not saved by faith plus good works, but by a faith that works. Any
declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works
is a false declaration. There are a number of voices in evangelical
world who decry good works. Some of these voices (e.g., Zane Hodges)
even falsely claim that if a person says they have accepted Jesus
into their heart and live the rest of their life in sin, they are
still saved! (Woe to them! Even Jesus' herald John the Baptist
advocated "good works" - Mt 3:8, Lk 3:8) True saving faith can never be by itself for
it always brings life, and life produces goodworks.
The person with dead faith has only an intellectual experience. In his
mind, he knows the doctrines of salvation, but he has never submitted
himself to God and trusted Christ for salvation. He knows the right
words, but he does not back up his words with his works. Faith in
Christ brings eternal life right now (John 3:16), and where there is life there must be growth and fruit.
(cf James 2:17-note)

Are you bearing fruit in every good work?
Dearly beloved, be encouraged for Paul wrote that
"we are
(God's) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
(see noteEphesians 2:10)

Many believers minimize the place of good works
in the Christian life reasoning that because we are not
saved by good works,
then good works
are something to be shunned. But our Lord reminds us that our
incredible privilege is to
"Let your light
shine
(Aorist imperative - Don't delay! Do this now!)before men in such
a way that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.”
(see noteMatthew 5:16)

It is not only by words that we give testimony to the greatness of
God, but also by our works. Our good works in fact pave the way for
witness with good words. If our walk contradicts our words, we lose
our testimony. Our “walk” and our “talk” must agree. Good works and
good words must come from the same yielded heart. Too many believers
today emphasize guarding the truth, but downplay living
the truth. One of the best ways to guard the truth is to put it into
practice. It is good to be defenders of the faith, but we must not
forget to be demonstrators of the faith by letting them see our good works!

You are writing a Gospel,
A chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do
And the words that you say.
Men read what you write,
Whether faithful or true:
Just what is the Gospel
According to you? -Author unknown

When doing good works,
also remember that the following question is irrelevant "Does this
person deserve my good works?" We are to "abound to every good work"
(NIV, 2Cor 9:8).

Paul reminded Titus (and us) that
Jesus "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from
every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous (afire, ardent, fervent, eager, enthusiastic) for good deeds."
(Titus 2:14-note)

The writer of Hebrews exhorts believers "do not
neglect doing good and sharing; for with such
sacrifices God is pleased" (Heb 13:16-note) so that good works
are actually “spiritual sacrifices” that we offer to God!

Please do not misunderstand. Believers do not manufacture these good works
but instead they are the fruit of God's Spirit working in our heart
for as Paul reminds us "it is God Who is at work in you, both to will and to
work for His good pleasure." (Php 2:13-note)

Paul acknowledges that the
key to his good works
was the grace of God which made him adding that God's "grace toward
me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of
them, yet not I, butthe grace of God with me." (1Cor
15:10-note).
Peter writes "Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so
that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on
account of your
good deeds, as
they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." (1Pe
2:12-note). Thus our good works
serve as testimonies to the lost and even win us the right to be
heard.

In sum, all of these truths about good works
indicate that God has a plan for our lives and that we should walk in
His will and fulfill His plan. If you'd like some additional study on
the topic of "good works (deeds)" click the following links for all of
the 24 passages on (good
works, good deeds).

The Amplified version emphasizes that the growth is in (the sphere of)
and by (the instrumentality of) the full and true
knowledge of God (in contrast to the knowledge of the false
philosophies which "stunt" growth and even lead to "death" if
persisted therein).

MacArthur - (in the
knowledge) is an instrumental dative case. It indicates the means by
which our increasing, or growth, takes place. The knowledge of God
revealed in His Word is crucial to spiritual growth. Peter wrote,
“Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it
you may grow in respect to salvation” (1Pet 2:2-note).
As always, the Holy Spirit infuses our own efforts with God’s
enabling grace (2Pet. 3:18-note),
without which we could not grow. (Colossians
and Philemon MacArthur New Testament Commentary)

INTRODUCTION
INCREASE
INTIMACY

Guy King - The acquaintance
with people generally proceeds in orderly sequence. (a) First, there
is Introduction - and this came to us when first we came to CHRIST.
How interesting is the story of Peter's introduction to Him, John
1:40-42. Have we, then, been introduced? (b) Then, there is to be
Increase - the theme of our present meditation. We see it developing
in Peter from the time when the Master came to him subsequently, and
called him to "Follow Me", Matthew 4:19. (c) All which can lead up
to Intimacy - so beautifully demonstrated in Peter's case, along
with his two fellow-apostles, James and John, in Jairus' house, on
the Transfiguration Mount, and in the Gethsemane garden. Let us make
no mistake, the Lord has no favorites, but He has intimates, who are
prepared to pay the cost in absolute devotion, and complete
consecration. You will recall that, in Philippians 3:10-note,
the apostle tells us that in his pursuance of knowledge, his chief
ambition was, "that I may know Him". Such close fellowship and
understanding embodies "all wisdom", indeed! (Colossians 1:3-11 His Courteous
Address)

Spurgeon
writes...

“Fruitful in every good
work”-what then? “increasing in the knowledge of God.” Look at
that. It seems, then, that holiness is the road to knowledge. God has made it so. If any man will
do his will he shall know of the doctrine. If you read and study, and
cannot make out the meaning of Scripture, get up and do something, and
it may be, in the doing of it, you shall discover the secret.

Holiness of heart
shall increase the illumination of your mind.

Will you kindly observe that this
knowledge rises in tone? for Paul first prayed that they “might be
filled with the knowledge of God’s will”; but now he implores for
them an increase in the knowledge of God Himself. Oh, blessed growth,
first to know the law, and then to know the Lawgiver! first to know
the precept, and then to know the mouth from which it comes! This is
the height of knowledge, to see Christ and know the Father, and learn
how to say from the heart, “Truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” I would call your willing attention
to another thought. The apostle, if he is to be judged according to
his outward language, often utters impossible things, and yet his
every sentence is not only full of deep meaning, but is strictly
correct. Notice his language here: in the ninth verse he says, “that ye might be filled with the
knowledge of his will.” Can anything go beyond this? The
vessel is filled right up to the brim, what can it have more? Yet the
apostle says, “increasing in the knowledge of
God.”

What can that mean? If the mind is
full to the brim, how can it receive more? If the man is full of
knowledge, how can his knowledge increase? Can there be any increase
after that? I propose to you the riddle. Here is the answer of it: Make the
vessel larger, and then there can be an increase. This solution of the
difficulty requires no great wit to discover it. So that Paul plainly
teaches us here that, if we have so increased in knowledge as to be
full, he would have us increased in capacity to know yet more; he
would have our manhood enlarged, our powers of reception increased,
that we might grow from being children to be young men, and from young
men to be fathers, and so may be filled--filled, always filled with
all the fullness of God!

The Lord grant unto us to perceive
with humility, that if we are already full of knowledge, we can still
advance, for we “have not yet attained.” Let no man think that he
can go no further. “There is,” says Augustine, “a
certain perfection according to the measure of this life, and it
belongs to that perfection that such a perfect man should know that he
is not yet perfect.” To that I heartily subscribe. There
is a certain fullness to be found in this life according to the
measure of a man, and it belongs to that fullness that the man should
know that he can yet increase in knowledge. Holy Bernard says “he is not good at all who doth
not desire to be better.” I also subscribe to that saying.
Some might become good if they were not puffed up with the fancy of
their own perfection. Others are somewhat commendable, but will never
grow because they judge themselves to be full-grown already. I would
have you filled, and yet have room for more: filled with all
knowledge, filled with all holiness, filled with the indwelling
Spirit, filled with God, and yet increasing in knowledge, in holiness,
in likeness to God, and in all good things evermore to His glory. The
Lord add His blessing for Jesus’ sake. Amen. (Colossians 1:9-10 Spiritual Knowledge:
It's Practical Results)

Increasing
(837)(auxano) means to cause to grow
or cause to become greater in extent, size, state, or quality and in
the current verse pictures the believer's continual (present
tense) spiritual growth (note passive voice = saint is acted upon by God's Spirit
Who produces
the growth) "in (the sphere of, circumscribed by, encircled by,
surrounded by - the "air" a believer "breaths" in and is
enabled to live and grow spiritually is called "grace" and "true
knowledge") the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2Pe 3:18-note)
as we obey (Jn 7:17)
and
as we walk worthy (cf Php 1:27-note).

Note especially the vitally
inherent in the Word of God - Acts 6:7; 12:24; 19:20 - So what?
Preach the Word in season and out if you want to see your congregation
grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
There are no shortcuts.

Paul used auxano in
this same chapter of spiritual growth, describing the gospel which had
come to and transformed the lives of the Colossians "just as in all
the world also it (the gospel) is constantly bearing fruit and
increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day
you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth." (Col
1:6-note)

Paul later warned the Colossian saints to beware of
defrauders who were "not holding fast to the head, from whom the
entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and
ligaments, grows (auxano) with a growth (auxesis) which is from God."
(see noteColossians 2:19).

There is no spiritual growth for the body (the
church) apart from union with the Head, Christ. Using auxano
with a similar meaning, Paul wrote to the Corinthian church:

"I
planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but God who causes the growth." (1Cor 3:6-7)

Increasing or
growth predicates an object having the element of life within
itself and being acted upon by an outside power or force to produce
either natural growth (eg, "lilies of the field grow"
- Mt 6:28-note) or, in the metaphorical
sense, spiritual growth, as used by John the Baptist in his
reference to Jesus, declaring "He must
continually increase (auxano) and
I must continually decrease." (Jn 3:30)
In (2Cor 10:15)
Paul writes to the Corinthians expressing his hope that their "faith
grows" (literally - is continually being grown)

Another picture of spiritual growth is found in Luke's three
descriptions of the Gospel as "the word of God ( which) kept
on spreading (increasing, growing) and the number of the
disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many
of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith." (Acts 6:7), "the Word of the Lord continued to grow and
to be multiplied." (Acts 12:24),
and "the Word of the Lord was growing mightily and
prevailing." (Acts 19:20).

How important for pulpits
everywhere to ensure and facilitate conditions which maximize the
"growth" of the Word of the Lord in the "garden" of the local body of
Christ, "in Whom the
whole building, being fitted together is (continually)
growing (auxano) into a holy temple in the Lord."
(Ep 2:21-note)

Paul exhorts believers at Ephesus " Enfolded in love, let us grow
up (auxano) in every way and in all things into Him
Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." (Eph
4:15-note,
Amplified)

And in one of the most foundational truths in the New
Testament regarding spiritual growth, Peter says that after "putting
aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
like newborn babes, long for the pure (unadulterated, no
additives, no artificial substitutes) milk of the Word, that
(purpose clause) by it you maygrow (auxano)
in respect to salvation (into conformity to the image of Christ).
(see notes1 Peter 2:1;
2:2)

Warren Wiersbe - "It is sad when
Christians have no appetite for God’s Word, but must be ‘fed’
religious entertainment instead. As we grow, we discover that
the Word is milk for babes, but also strong meat for the mature (He
5:11, 12, 13, 14-see
notesHeb 5:11-12;
13-14). It is also bread (Mt.
4:4) and honey (Ps 119:103)." (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor)

The point is that their is no spiritual
growth in a believer who does not personally imbibe the milk of
the living and active Word of God.

Knowledge of God - Not just
becoming smarter sinners (smug and sacrosanct), but becoming more like
the Savior (submissive and serving).

Knowledge
(1922) (epignosis
[word study]from gnosis = knowledge gained by experience + epi
= here used to intensify the meaning) full, perfect, precise
knowledge
thus signifying a more complete, more thorough, larger knowledge than
that found in gnosis. Epignosis as used by
Paul stresses a true knowledge of God and His will. It was also,
generally, the appropriate term for personal rather than intellectual
knowledge. Epignosis thus implies a more intimate
and personal relationship than gnosis. The learner
exhibits a more thorough participation
in the acquiring of knowledge.